Sundance 2012: Magnolia Picks Up Terrific Horror Anthology 'V/H/S'

Another big Sundance sale we definitely need to highlight. Heat Vision is reporting that Magnolia Pictures has closed on a roughly $1 million deal for US rights to V/H/S, the horror anthology film that premiered in the Midnight category at Sundance. I caught the premiere at midnight and loved it, it's awesome, potentially the kind of film that could push the found-footage genre and reinvent horror anthology. The film features five short horror segments made to look like they're on VHS, plus a wrap-around story, and they're all freaky and fantastic. It will hit VOD and also be in theaters, as is the norm with Magnolia's Ultra VOD program.

V/H/S, produced by our friend Brad Miska from Bloody-Disgusting, features segments directed by six filmmakers: Adam Wingard, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg and Ti West. Not only is it a great film that's been receiving some fantastic buzz (see Peter Sciretta's review; watch our video blog here), but it's caused quite a stir in Park City as well. One moviegoer passed out during a screening, apparently another had to run out to throw up. The footage isn't particularly that disgusting, but it is scary and incredibly well-made, and it deserves the kind of buzz it's getting. I'm very happy to see that it got picked up; we'll definitely keep you updated on release plans as they come together later this year.